(1) Field of the Invention
This invention is a method for producing a mold, the mold produced by the method, a wall panel and a block Both the wall panel and the block can be produced in the mold produced by the method of the invention, and both are useful in constructing buildings.
(2) Description of Related Art
Various methods for producing wall panels and blocks, molds for use in producing wall panels and blocks, and the use of the wall panels and blocks produced in the production of homes and other buildings have been suggested. Some such panels and blocks include polyurethane, polystyrene and other foams for their thermal insulating properties.
For example, “Labrecque”, U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,232, granted Mar. 1, 1977, includes the following disclosure (column 1, lines 22-55) of the production of a construction panel:
“The method of making the construction panel includes forming a dry cement mixture by mixing cement, silica and an aggregate with preferably a coloring agent to obtain a concrete of the desired color. Preferably, the cement is a white cement, the silica is of 70-mesh, and the aggregate is expanded mica, such as the heat expanded mica known under the registered trade mark “ZONOLITE”, owned by W. R. Grace Co.
“Some of the dry cement mixture is mixed with water to form a wet cement mixture which is spread into a layer in a mold. Some dry cement is thereafter powdered onto the wet cement mixture until a dry blanket is formed onto the latter. As soon as such dry blanket has been obtained, an unset foaming urethane formulation in liquid form is poured onto the dry cement blanket and the mold is closed by a cover. The setting operation is started at room temperature that is some 70° F., no heating being required. When the foaming urethane formulation has set into a foam urethane layer, the construction panel is removed from the mold to allow the cement mixture to complete its setting into a concrete layer. The urethane formulation upon reacting in the mold, expands and develops heat and pressure whereby the wet cement mixture is heated and the resulting urethane layer is pressed against the cement layer. Water in the wet cement layer migrates into and wets the dry blanket whereby the latter turns into concrete. This water migration takes place in the closed mold where it is helped by the pressure and heat conditions therein. A firm bond is thus produced between the concrete layer and the foam urethane layer. The mold may be vibrated to pack the wet cement mixture into a compact layer before setting.”
Stott, U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,193, Mar. 12, 2002, discloses a “wall or panel which has the appearance of natural stonework, rock, brick, wood or the like, which is lightweight and durable” (column 1, lines 59 and following), and is composed of a thin concrete layer with a contoured exterior to provide the indicated appearance, and an interior foam layer coupled to the interior of the concrete layer. There may be a reinforcing layer between the concrete and the foam, and a rigid layer spaced from the concrete, with the foam between the two.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,536, Piazza, discloses a composite module shown in FIG. 1 which comprises a rigid core 10 (which is preferably a polyurethane foam) having scrim reinforcing material 14 (preferably coated glass fiber scrim) wrapped at least partly therearound and a rigid encapsulating shell 12 comprising a cementitious material 13 reinforced with glass fibers, and a facing member 11. The composite module is produced by placing the facing member 11 (FIG. 2) face down in a mold 20 and positioning the scrim reinforcing material 14 on the upper face of the facing member. The foam is then foamed into the mold 20 and allowed to harden to form the rigid foam core member 10 (FIGS. 1, 4, 5B and 5C). The foam, in conjunction with the scrim material 14, is bonded to the exposed face of the facing member and the resulting unit is removed from the mold 20 (FIG. 2). The excess scrim 14 is then folded around the core 10, producing a unit shown in FIG. 4. A wet cementitious bottom layer 15 (shown in FIG. 5A) is formed in the bottom of a second mold 21. The combined facing member and scrim wrapped core (FIG. 4) is then placed in the mold 21 with the facing member facing up and with the periphery of the facing member and core spaced from the side walls of the mold 21 as shown in FIG. 5B. Wet reinforced cementitious material is then deposited in the mold 21 (see FIG. 5C) in the free space surrounding the core and facing member until the cementitious material is substantially flush with the outer surface of the facing member. The cementitious material is allowed to cure and the module is removed from mold 21 in such a form as that shown in the partially cutaway perspective view of FIG. 6.
Refrigerated trucks and trailers usually have aluminum floors made up of a number of extruded sections, each of which has a plurality of parallel, longitudinally-extending channels. Adjacent ones of the channels have common sidewalls, and webs which are parallel to one another and are structurally integral with opposite edges of the sidewalls. The sections are welded together to make an entire floor, which may have inside dimensions as great as 102 inches (2.6 meters) by 52½ feet (16 meters). The aluminum floor must be insulated from the metal of the truck or trailer by which it is supported. This is usually accomplished by attaching spaced transverse wooden members to the supporting metal of the truck or trailer, and attaching the aluminum floor to the wooden members. After the assembly is complete, a froth foam is injected from a wand into the spaces which are below the floor and between the wooden members, where the floor is unsupported. Such floors leak, and must be replaced frequently, to a large extent because movement of a trailer or truck while in operation on a highway often exerts enormous forces tending to strip screws that are supposed to hold the floor to the trailer or truck and, as a consequence, stripping frequently occurs after a short time of service. Wet floors are particularly subject to this stripping.
Isocyanates and compositions that are polymerizable by condensation of the NCO groups of isocyanates with compounds having active hydrogens have been used widely since World War II to produce a broad spectrum of products ranging from coating compositions to medical appliances. The present dyligomers are particularly desirable constituents of compositions which are polymerizable by condensation of NCO groups of isocyanates with active hydrogens to produce urethanes.